This invention relates generally to collation or document merging devices and methods and more specifically to a method and apparatus for attaching photocopies of checks or other documents to the envelopes or other transport medium from which the checks or other documents originated.
The present invention has particular application within the "lockbox industry". Wholesale and retail lockbox services are routinely used by businesses that receive large volumes of retail payments or corporate-to-corporate receiveables. The primary objective of a lockbox operation is to have the subscriber's customers remit payment checks to a local post office box in order to minimize transit time, processing expenses and handling costs. Lockbox providers thus serve as agents for receiving and depositing payments thereby maximizing the availability of funds while reducing mail costs, processing time and check clearing float times. Lockbox services are designed to process large volumes of payments received by mail and to provide subscribers of the service with daily remittance information for manual or automated reconciliation of the subscriber's customer accounts. The checks received are processed by the lockbox provider, usually a cash management bank, on a daily basis and the funds collected are deposited into the subscriber's deposit account with the bank. The collected funds are therefore usable by the receiving business much quicker than with the traditional process.
However, once the lockbox subscriber has been given credit for the funds in its demand deposit account, the subscriber must then pass along the credits to its respective customer accounts. Presently, a high percentage of lockbox subscribers do not receive electronic updates to their receivables and must rely on photocopies of the original remittance checks from which to post and reconcile their customer accounts.
In a typical lockbox operation, each remittance envelope received must first be opened and the remittance check contained therein must then be separated and removed from other correspondence which may be contained within the envelope. Any such correspondence must then be placed back into the remittance envelope for eventual forwarding to the lockbox subscriber. Once the remittance check is removed from its envelope, it must be photocopied or printed from scanned images. Within the lockbox industry, check photocopies are generated by either replicating scanned images of the checks on computer printers or, more typically, by reproducing the checks on conventional copiers. Copies of checks are usually reproduced three or more to a page and are separated, as by cutting or perforation, into single check-size copies. Each copy must then be reattached to the remittance envelope from which it originated. Upon completion of this process, the check photocopies, attached to their respective remittance envelopes, are forwarded to the lockbox subscriber for posting to its customer accounts.
Today, virtually every cash management bank provides, or is involved to some degree with, retail or wholesale lockbox collection services. The accelerated mail receipt and improved funds availability provided by these services are very attractive to many business owners. However, the process of reassociating and reattaching photocopies of checks to their respective remittance envelopes for return to the business subscriber is one of the most time consuming and labor intensive functions of the lockbox service. It would be expedient, therefore, to provide a method and apparatus which would effectively automate this process thereby virtually eliminating the manual labor associated with this phase of the lockbox service.